Porsche Universe

The Porsche Cayman topped the list of the ten most appealing vehicles in the 11th annual Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates. The APEAL study measures the owners’ delight with their new vehicles in terms of design, content, layout and performance. In simplest terms, the study tries to find out how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive. The APEAL study is based on 10 different categories namely: engine/transmission; driving dynamics; storage and space; seats; vehicle interior; heating; ventilation and cooling; vehicle exterior; audio/entertainment/navigation; visibility and driving safety; and fuel economy.

Here are the top ten most appealing vehicles for 2006

1. 2006 Porsche Cayman
2. 2006 BMW 7 Series
3. 2006 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
4. 2006 Lexus IS 250/IS 350
5. 2006 Infiniti QX56
6. 2006 Nissan Armada
7. 2006 Scion tC
8. 2006 Mini Cooper
9. 2006 Lexus GX 470
10. 2006 Infiniti M-Series

The day Alfred Nobel combined the relatively innocuous components of nitrates and glycerol was a wondrous day for us all. On their own, they were fertilizer and fat,respectively; together, they could split the world in two.Porsche’s 911 Carrera and Cayman could represent those two elements: a fat man’s sports car and mid-range fertilizer for Porsche’s sales figures. But German tuning firm 9ff has blended them together in its Dortmund lab to produce the CR-42, a 911-engined Cayman so volatile it could convince George W. Bush to invade Germany.

Jan Fatthauer doesn’t work for Porsche. He owns 9ff, the tuning firm that produced the world’s fastest production car (for a while, at least), which recently turned attention to the Cayman. He fitted that LSD, and then couldn’t stop himself.

He went for a full engine transplant, grabbing the nearest 3.8-liter from a new Carrera S and boring the cylinders out from 99mm to 102mm. That encroached into the soft aluminum of the casing and required further reinforcement with Nikasil to stop the block melting after the first dose of throttle.

Read the rest of this article at European Car

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